October 05, 2012

Rookie Cookery Goes Paleo Style

As anyone who has followed my blog over the years knows, I have all but stopped food blogging. I won't go into the reasons here. However recently I have been learning about and experimenting with the "Paleo" style of diet, and frankly it has rocked my culinary world. So much so, that I am inspired to write about food again and share what I am discovering.

What is a "Paleo" style diet? The word comes from "paleolithic", meaning the kind of diet that humans ate, as hunter-gatherers, before large scale agriculture became the norm in the neolithic era. See the sidebar for links to some of my favorite Paleo Diet related web sites-- a great place to start learning about it.

The Paleo diet consists of meat, fish and poultry, vegetables, fruit, and some nuts and seeds. It does NOT include grains or sugar or processed foods, nor does it include legumes such as beans, peanuts, or lentils.

Of course going Gluten free has been the ticket to health for many people. (Gluten being present in wheat and other grains, causing illness for those with celiac disease). What I have been discovering is that the vast majority of people are actually gluten "sensitive" and that grain foods are a highly inflammatory food, causing systemic reactions and auto-immune disorders in those affected. Grains also create blood sugar and insulin spikes, contributing to metabolic disorders.

I used to pity those who had celiac disease, because I could not imagine not being able to eat a food as ubiquitous as grains. No bread? Impossible! I do not have any serious health complications, thank goodness. But the less grain I eat, the better I feel, and I invite you to explore this for yourself. I am also motivated by the improvements in blood sugar control experienced by my husband, who is type one diabetic. That gets my attention.

I will be writing more on this, providing links and sharing what I am learning. I am not yet sure how it will affect my blog because this perspective on food represents a big change for me. Many things I used to make, bake, and eat I now see as more of a poison than a food! Will I remove those recipes from my site? I don't know. But things will be rearranged a bit while I figure it out.

I also don't claim to be 100 percent "Paleo" in my diet, although that would be the ideal. However I eat far less grain foods than I used to, and my sensitivity to both grains and sugar is increasing as my desire for them is decreasing. That alone surprises me. I like this trend.

The Paleo style of eating is simple, and delicious. It suits my already simple style of cooking and eating with my family. In fact it is so simple and basic, I doubt I will have much "new" to contribute in terms of recipes. But if you like "rookie cookery" and want to follow along, you are welcome. See you in the kitchen!